Rental Inspections in Charleston, SC (2026)
2 verified rental inspections rules for Charleston, South Carolina, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Inspection Programs
Charleston requires landlords in designated pilot neighborhoods, Cannonborough/Elliottborough, Radcliffeborough and Mazyck-Wraggborough, to register every residential rental unit with the city before renting it out. City Code Section 7-128 bars operating an unregistered unit inside a rental registration district, and Section 7-132 makes doing so a misdemeanor with daily fines.
Charleston Rental Registration Pilot Program
Significant RestrictionsCharleston City Code § 7-128
(a)No landlord shall operate any residential rental unit within a residential rental registration district unless that landlord has registered the residential rental unit with the city.(b)Each individual residential rental unit requires its own registration. Registrations are not transferable.(c)The registration shall be valid for twelve (12) months following the date of registration, with Janu...
Tenant Complaint Process
Charleston residents can trigger a formal unfitness investigation by petitioning the public safety and housing officer directly, or by joining at least five neighbors in a complaint under City Code Section 7-92. The city also makes it unlawful for a landlord to raise rent, cut utilities or evict a tenant in retaliation for reporting a code violation.
Charleston Tenant Complaint And Retaliation Rules
Some RestrictionsCharleston City Code §§ 7-92, 7-80(b), 7-80(d)
Whenever a petition is filed with the public safety and housing officer by a public authority or by at least five (5) residents of the city charging that any dwelling is unfit for human habitation ..., the public safety and housing officer shall, if his preliminary investigation discloses a basis for such charges, issue and cause to be served upon the owner of and parties in interest in such dw...
Looking for Charleston County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Charleston city rules.
Rental Inspections in Charleston County →